Piketty on Roda Viva

Thomas Piketty experienced firsthand how difficult it is to have an opinion different from that of the mainstream media in Brazil.

Just like in the Colosseum, he was thrown to the "beasts" of our press on the Roda Viva program.

Because he is a global celebrity, the attacks were disguised; after all, Piketty is one of the most talked-about economists of the moment, author of the bestseller "Capital in the Twenty-First Century".

Right off the bat, the program's "impartial" moderator, Augusto Nunes, asks if he believes the information from the Brazilian government. Somewhat reluctantly, he hears that, based on the data collected so far, "there is more income inequality than we believed."

A staunch critic of the current global economic system, he warns that the continued concentration of wealth in the hands of a few is a threat to democracy.

And to the dismay of our economic "experts," he advocates for a greater state presence: "economic policies should not be restricted to economists."

Despite the French economist's limited familiarity with the country, the program focused its attacks on our economy. They tried at all costs to get him to utter some disparaging phrase about the government. In vain.

Piketty must still be wondering how so many journalists from different media outlets can share the same viewpoint. He discovered that, in addition to income concentration, there is a high concentration of information.

One of the "illustrious" interviewers even goes so far as to say, to everyone's ironic laughter, that even if the world's best economists were to gather and implement the worst possible economic policy, it would never equal ours.

The usual, well-known nonsense.

The mainstream media, represented there by the interviewers, who usually express outrage at the excessive tax burden, highlighting the limits of the Tax Meter, were challenged by Piketty in his defense of a progressive taxation of income, property, and inheritance.

The suggestion of a "more democratic distribution of taxes" did not convince those present, who seemed unconcerned that we are one of the world champions of social inequality.

André Lara Resende, considered one of the creators of the Plano Real (Real Plan), disagreed with the Frenchman's explanation that pointed to the growing concentration of income as an obstacle to growth.

According to the Brazilian economist, the possibility of individual wealth is what makes the wheels turn, bringing progress to the world. He cites Bill Gates as an example.

Piketty agrees: "some degree of inequality is useful." However, he adds that if twenty years ago Gates had envisioned a personal fortune ten or twenty times smaller, he would have developed Windows with the same drive.

And he concludes the discussion with a question: "Do we need so much inequality to have innovation?"